.5: The Gray Chapter
.5: The Gray Chapter is the fifth studio album by American heavy metal band Slipknot. Released on October 20, 2014, it is the first album by the band in six years and the first to not feature bassist Paul Gray and drummer Joey Jordison after the former died in 2010 (the title of the album being a reference to his name), and the latter parted ways with the band in 2013. A standard and deluxe edition of the album will be released. The deluxe edition will feature two bonus tracks. Background The writing process of the record began in late 2013. Wanting to dedicate more time to the album, guitarist Jim Root decided not to tour with Stone Sour in January 2014. Additionally, he was moved to bass duties as the band recruited another guitarist at the time. According to frontman Corey Taylor, the sound of the album is somewhat of a cross between 2001's Iowa and 2004's Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses). Taylor told Pop Culture Madness that the material contains "gorgeous melodies" and the artistic direction as Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses) but yet retains some of its "brutality" from the Iowa era. A new guitarist and drummer were added to the lineup before the recording process and Taylor told Loudwire that two unique masks were created for their appearances in music videos and stage performances as they saw it disrespectful to have them sporting the original masks of Paul Gray and Joey Jordison. Both members were briefly shown in the music video for The Devil In I, however their identities have not been announced by Slipknot amidst speculation. Jim Root revealed in an interview that Donnie Steele was not involved in any of the studio sessions for the album and they had already found the new guitarist at the time. Promotion On July 15, the band began releasing short teasers for the new album for over a two-week period that turned out to be clips from the official video along with samples from a song entitled "The Negative One". The song was released on August 1, 2014 and an accompanying video was released on August 5, 2014. It was directed by Shawn Crahan; however, it did not feature any of the band members. On August 13, 2014 the band revealed the cover art for their official radio single entitled "The Devil in I" and the single premiered on August 24, 2014. The official video for the single was unveiled on September 12 featuring the members with new variations of their masks with the exception of Taylor who debuted a new mask. Slipknot will begin their tour at the second iteration of Knotfest as headliners on October 25 and the 26 with Anthrax, Five Finger Death Punch, Otep and Black Label Society among others in California. Reception Critical response “…the youthful angst that fired their early records has nothing on the grim realities of adulthood. From that deep well of pain, another great Slipknot record has emerged.” said the reviewer of Revolver Magazine giving the album 4.5/5. "… the writing is impeccable, the lyrics range from straightforward and emotional to sinister and cryptic..." said Graig Kennelty giving the album a positive response. "This is Slipknot at their most incendiary, invasive, and infectious. Moreover, there's absolutely nothing like .5 – The Gray Chapter in either the band's catalog or the modern heavy metal canon, period." said Rick Florino of Artist direct giving the album 5/5. Personnel *(#0) Sid Wilson – turntables *(-1) Tyler Mace – drums *(-2) Raylan Westbrook – guitars, backing vocals *(#3) Chris Fehn – percussion, backing vocals *(#4) Jim Root – bass *(#5) Craig "133" Jones – sampling, keyboards *(#6) Shawn "Clown" Crahan – percussion, backing vocals *(#7) Mick Thomson – guitars *(#8) Corey Taylor – vocals